XML Paper Specification v1.0 RTMs!!!!!!!!

At 11:30 AM PST - the final version of the XML Paper Specification (v1.0) RTM'd.  This is a great day and represents an incredible amount of hard work, blood-shed, tears, slaying dragons (and lawyers) by the team to get to this point.  We started on this years ago, and at times I thought this day would never come.  I'll try and not be too dramatic, but this really is a milestone for Microsoft and the industry.  I can only image what the years ahead will mean to this technology, how many ways it will be used, how many systems it will be integrated into. 

There are too many people to name that contribued to the spec - maybe I will post an exhaustive list later.   But -  I have to at least not only give thanks to the team that designed it, but also to so many partners of ours that helped review every version of the spec, did prototype implementations, filed bugs, found every little inconsistency they could find and helped drive the spec to the quality it has today. You know who you are and we thank you.

We had a mini-celebration outside my office this morning.  We poured Champagne and all of us signed the first printed copy of v1.0.  When I say RTM (release to manufacturing) that really is only a few days for a spec.  It will be posted very soon on the web and I will blog when that happens.  Next step - is to RTM the code.  That will be a slightly bigger party I think.

Not everyone could attend our little gathering, but a quick pic of the team is below. 

The signed spec -  as soon as the missing people can sign it, I think it will make a nice poster.  I'll post a hi-res version of it when we finish the signatures and those of you outside MS can grab it.  Maybe, we should sign a bunch of hard-copies and do a signing at Barnes and Noble??? (maybe a bit much).

- Andy